Laparoscopic port assembly

Abstract

Various embodiments of a laparoscopic trocar assembly are disclosed. The port assemblies include inserted parts that protect the patient's tissues at the point of deployment. The port assemblies include seals for maintaining pneumoperitoneum both when instrument are being used and when instruments are not inserted.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A surgical access assembly comprising:
 a surgical port, the surgical port including a cannula carrier having first and second cannulas extending distally therefrom; and 
 an obturator, the obturator including: 
 a disk-shaped member defining an opening disposed generally centrally therethrough; 
 
       a body member defining proximal and distal ends and an interior region therebetween, the distal end of the body member extending orthogonally and distally from the disk-shaped member, the interior region of the body member in communication with the opening defined by the disk-shaped member; and
 first and second rigid members extending distally from the distal end of the body member, the first and second rigid members having spaced distal ends, the first cannula of the surgical port having an opening to receive the first rigid member, the second cannula of the surgical port having an opening to receive the second rigid member. 
 
     
     
       2. The surgical access assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the obturator is removably mounted to the port via mating projections formed in the disk-shaped member and recesses formed in the port configured to receive the mating projections. 
     
     
       3. The surgical access assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the port includes a plurality of suture anchors to receive tie-down sutures to anchor the port to a patient. 
     
     
       4. The surgical access assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second cannulas extend distally from a body of the port and the first and second cannulas each have a proximal opening adjacent a distal portion of the body of the port, the first and second rigid members of the obturator extending into the respective first and second proximal openings. 
     
     
       5. The surgical access assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the obturator includes first and second finger contact surfaces extending proximally from the disk-shaped member to enable manual application of torque to the obturator. 
     
     
       6. The surgical access assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the first and second finger contact surfaces extending proximally from the disk-shaped member each are offset from a central longitudinal axis defined by the obturator. 
     
     
       7. The surgical access assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the first and second finger contact surfaces each further comprise substantially vertical planar surfaces. 
     
     
       8. The surgical access assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the substantially vertical planar surfaces comprising the first and second finger contact surfaces are oriented substantially orthogonal to the disk-shaped member. 
     
     
       9. The surgical access assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the first and second finger contact surfaces are each radially oriented along a radius defined by the disk-shaped member. 
     
     
       10. The surgical access assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second rigid members are parallel. 
     
     
       11. The surgical access assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the obturator includes a third rigid member extending distally from the body member, the third rigid member having a distal end spaced from the distal ends of the first and second rigid members.